A 14-year-old girl claims a strange man called her “pretty” just seconds before he tried to kidnap her in one of Melbourne's best-known alleys.
The Melbourne teenager was on a school excursion on Wednesday, November 15, to view the graffiti artwork in Hosier Lane in the city's CBD.
But by 10:30 a.m., she had fallen behind her teachers and was approached by a man she didn't know.
Police allege the man commented on the girl's appearance before grabbing her and attempting to drag her further into the lane.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the traumatized girl recalled the incident.
A 14-year-old girl (pictured with her mother on Wednesday) has revealed she has been afraid of being alone since a stranger allegedly tried to kidnap her on November 15
“He stuck his head in my face… then he started talking about how beautiful I was, then he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me closer,” she said.
“My thoughts were all over the place, I wasn't really aware of what was really going on until he grabbed my arm.”
Fortunately, another unknown man saw the girl's distress and intervened, posing as her teacher.
He managed to get her away from the alleged kidnapper attempt, under the guise of catching up with the rest of the students.
The 14-year-old's mother used the press conference to ask the brave stranger to come forward.
“I would like to thank him for what he did,” she said.
“If he hadn't been there, we don't know what the outcome would have been.”
She added that it was a “horrifying phone call to receive” when her scared daughter finally escaped.
'She was hysterical at the time. “She was really scared and he really hurt her when he grabbed her,” she said.
The young girl was on a school excursion when a man approached her and allegedly grabbed her (photo: the suspected attacker and the woman he was traveling with)
The girl said she has been afraid to be alone in public since the alleged kidnapping attempt.
'I get scared when I see strangers on the street. “I don't really want to go out in public without older people protecting me,” she said.
Detective Senior Constable Joshua Guy described the intervening man's actions as 'nothing short of heroic'.
“He saw a situation that was wrong and intervened in a way that was subtle and unobtrusive,” he said.
He added that the alleged attack was an act of “predatory behavior.”
Victoria Police have been unable to identify the alleged perpetrator and have therefore shared images of him and a woman he was traveling with.
The man is described as having a dark complexion and a slim build.
The girl and her mother (above) thanked the 'Good Samaritan' who posed as the teen's teacher to save her
At the time of the alleged attack he was wearing dark long trousers, a dark hoodie with a red hood, black shoes with white soles and dark sunglasses.
He also had a black backpack and a black fanny pack.
The woman appeared to be an Asian woman with a stocky build and long black hair.
She wore a purple puffer jacket, a beige or light pink T-shirt, blue jeans and white and fluorescent orange shoes.
She also had a blue backpack with her.
Police said the pair fled on foot on Flinders Lane and asked anyone with more information to contact Crime Stoppers.